Awf ibn Mālik al-Ashja'ī related: “There were seven or eight of us with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said, ‘Will you not pledge allegiance?’ We replied, ‘We have already pledged allegiance to you, O Messenger of Allah. What, then, are we to pledge to you?’ He said, ‘That you worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, perform the five prayers, obey’—and he uttered a word quietly—‘and ask people for nothing.’ Awf said, ‘Indeed, I later saw some of those men: if one of them dropped his whip, he would not ask anyone to hand it to him.’” Muslim narrated it.1 ...

Qabīsa ibn Mukhāriq al-Hilālī related: “I had undertaken a financial liability on behalf of others, so I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask him for assistance with it. He said, ‘Remain here until the charity funds come to us, and we will order that something be given to you from them.’ He then said, ‘O Qabīsa, asking is lawful only for one of three people: a man who has undertaken a financial liability on behalf of others, for whom asking is lawful until he obtains enough to discharge it, after which he must desist; a man whose wealth has been swept away by a calamity, for whom asking is lawful until he obtains enough to sustain himself; and a man afflicted by poverty whose condition is attested by three discerning men from among his people, who say, “So-and-so has indeed been afflicted by poverty.” Asking is lawful for him until he obtains enough to sustain himself—or, as he may have said, enough to meet his basic needs. Any asking beyond these cases, O Qabīsa, is unlawful gain; whoever takes it consumes unlawful gain.’” Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasā'ī narrated it.2

Refraining from asking created beings and turning instead to the Creator is always better, as Allah Most High says: “So when you have finished, strive diligently, and direct your longing to your Lord.” In the two Sahīhs, Abū Saīd al-Khudrī related: “I fell into dire need, so I went to